Putin Suspends Participation In INF Nuclear Treaty

Russian PresidentVladimir Putin signed a federal law to suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, an arms control treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (and its successor state, the Russian Federation).

“To suspend the Treaty Between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles signed in the city of Washington on December 8, 1987,” the document says.

The INF treaty has been widely seen as a cornerstone of European security in the post-Cold War era after the U.S. and Russia signed it in 1987. It prohibits both countries from possessing and testing ground launch missiles with a range between 300-3,100 miles.

In October 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an exit from the pact, accusing Moscow of violating it.

In a tit-for-tat response on Feb. 2, Putin said Moscow was suspending its obligations under the INF treaty.

The bill was approved by the Russian parliament on June 26.

The INF Treaty was the first of its kind to eliminate an entire class of missiles.

It banned the United States and Russia from developing, producing, and deploying ground-launched cruise or ballistic missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.